spell back in time
by shel
Summary: phoebe’s daughter travels through time in an attempt to avert family tragedy…
1. prologue

CHARMED

"Spell Back In Time"

by shel

© july 2007

_disclaimer__: the charmed ones, cole, and leo, and the rest of the cast of characters we've come to know and love, belong to spelling television, inc. and possible other copyright holders. i intended no true infringement on their copyrights; i only wanted to borrow these marvelous characters for a short time in my own scenarios and hopefully return them no worse for wear; the only things i've gained from this story are the satisfaction and pleasure of having written it and in knowing that others may have enjoyed it too…_

_rating__: pg-13_

_summary__: phoebe's daughter travels through time in an attempt to avert family tragedy…_

_archive__: please don't without expressed permission…_

_notes__: there are references to s6's '__chris-crossed__,' '__it's a bad, bad, bad, bad world__,' s5's __'__the importance of being phoebe__' (including some actual dialogue), s2's '__morality bites__,' s8's '__forever charmed__,' s7's '__witchness protection,__' and s5's '__centennial charmed__'…please let me know if you enjoyed my tale and why and, if not, why not…and, please, don't bother wasting your time or mine by sending any flames…_

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_**Prologue**_

_January 12, 2033 – late morning_

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Penny cradled her mother's bloody and broken body. "Daddy's dead," she tearfully informed Phoebe as her father's blood dripped off her fingers and mingled with her mother's. "I don't understand; why didn't you see? Why didn't you warn me? I could've, I could've…" Her voice trailed off in protest, knowing there was no way she could have helped to save her parents or older sisters.

Without an active power, what could she possibly have done to prevent Trish from being burned alive by demons? Or stopped them from torturing Prue before they impaled her with the coat rack? Or aid her father in… "Oh, Mama, you needed me with you. How could you have let me go to the cemetery when you knew demons were hunting today? Or didn't you know? Did you see it coming? Did you have any warning?"

But Phoebe didn't respond; she didn't even open her eyes.

"Chris hasn't answered any of my calls. What if they got him too? Please, Mama, I don't know what to do. Don't leave me alone…" Burying her face in her mother's neck, Penny sobbed and released all her pain and fears until all that was left was anger.

She slowly sat up, caressed her mother's cool cheek, and shifted her mother's body from her lap to the floor. Spotting her father's ruby ring clenched in Phoebe's hand, she gently pried it free, all the while trying not to imagine Phoebe having witnessed her beloved husband's death. Of course, the two were so tightly bound perhaps her mother wouldn't have survived for long after her father's death anyway. Maybe it was better they died together. Her mother wasn't like Aunt Paige who lived for three years without Uncle Henry before the demons got her too. And Phoebe wasn't like Aunt Piper who fought back for a year after Uncle Leo's murder until she was killed in battle protecting Melinda.

Penny swept some strands of hair behind her mother's ear. No, her mother was different, too tied to her emotions, to love. Phoebe always worried it was her weakness that love be so powerful and overwhelming. Until she looked into her husband's eyes and admitted that love could never be a weakness. Penny nearly smiled at the thought of her father teasing her mother and the way Phoebe simply glowed in response. Being the daughter of a Cupid and an empathic witch, a Charmed empathic witch, wasn't always easy but it was…The blood sticking to her fingers shocked her back to reality, the horrific reality that her parents, Cupid and Charmed One, were dead.

She hadn't been there but Penny had still seen. The vision had come the instant she had touched her father's body, praying he might somehow be still alive. And she squeezed her eyes shut as the vision traitorously replayed itself now in her mind. Prue, vengefully using her telekinesis to deflect the fireball back at the demon that had ultimately killed Trish. Prue, managing to create a whirlwind of attacking objects despite the lecherous advances of the demons who grabbed her. Prue, the coat rack spearing her body, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth as her eyes closed for the last time.

Penny gripped her father's ring tightly during that final image of him focusing all his energies through the ring, ripping apart the three demons that had destroyed his family, save her. "You were right, Mama. Hate is only a breath away from love. I never knew a Cupid could act with such hatred….He didn't even have time to feel satisfied before that new trio shimmered in behind him." She couldn't control herself and burst into a fresh set of tears.

"I hate them!" She pounded the floor. "I'll find them! I swear it! I'll find them and I'll kill them, I'll kill all of them!"

"Not if they find you and kill you first."

Startled, Penny stumbled back. But she immediately recognized the battered man and flew into his arms, partly out of relief, partly out of her own power of flight. "Chris, oh God, Chris…"

"It's okay, Penny, I'm here, I've got you," he murmured as he hugged his younger cousin. "I spotted a Tracker on my tail and knew something was wrong but I couldn't shake him. I got here as fast as I could." He scanned the devastation around him. "I'm sorry, Penny, I'm so sorry…"

"They're gone, Chris, my whole family," Penny cried into his chest.

"I know, squirt, I know," he sympathized. Bianca had been gone four years, the first hole gouged in his heart. Then Henry and Henry Junior were attacked within the year of her death. And after a lull that left none with a false sense of security, demonic factions finally launched their assault with a vengeance offering little time to mourn. The surviving Mitchells had been targeted barely six months ago; his mother had died defending Melinda barely three months ago; and barely one month had passed since he buried Melinda anyway only this time with Wyatt at her side.

He kissed the top of Penny's head and closed his eyes a moment to absorb the impact of this new loss. He had just spoken to Phoebe that morning and now she was gone along with his uncle and cousins. "And the Elders won't let Aunt Paige help us," he mumbled. She squirmed and stared at him in shock. "They said she hasn't yet adjusted to her role as --"

"Her family's being wiped out and they won't let her help?" Penny stalked across the room before turning back to him, arms folded across her chest in annoyance. "Fine. We all know the Elders are selfish beings that only use us when the --"

"Penny…"

She glared at him. "Why doesn't she just come down on her own? Since when do the Charmed Ones let them dicta--"

"Don't get angry with me," he warned tiredly. "I've had it up to here with -- look, Penny, I feel the same way but none of us have any say in this. She did manage to convince them --"

"You saw her? You saw Aunt Paige?"

Chris shook his head with regret, "I only know what they told me. Aunt Paige was furious but her hands are tied and the best she could do was convince them to offer us haven Up There. For as long as the danger exists."

"The danger will exist," she snorted, "as long as there's a drop of Warren blood flowing in our veins. Just because the Charmed Ones and Wyatt are gone doesn't mean we're still not from the most powerful line of witches. Demons won't rest until we're wiped out completely." She glanced down at her mother's body. "Mom would be majorly pissed right now but," she sighed, "she'd want us to go. She'd want us to be safe. We're the only ones left, Chris. The whole line, down to just us, and she'd want us to be protected."

"Come on then, I'll take you there," Chris offered, extending his hand.

But she slapped away his hand, "I'm not going anywhere and you know it! I won't run and hide for the rest of my life."

"You're only eighteen," he reminded her, "and --"

"If the next words out of your mouth are 'you have no active power,' so help me, Christopher Perry, I'll make you sor--"

"Easy, cousin," he entreated, "all I meant was that you don't have the experience at demon hunting that Wyatt and I do…did. Yes," he quickly conceded, "you have the martial arts skills but you haven't had the combat training that we had or even that Trish and Prue had."

"Not my fault," she grumbled, "when I was always being told to stay behind."

"Bottom line, squirt, is that you're not ready yet for full frontal assault on the Underworld."

"Yet, being the operative word," she warned. "Fine," she grabbed his hand, "then let's get the hell out of here and prepare our arsenal."

Chris eyed his cousin's determination and surrendered. "Where to?"

"The only safe place left," she sadly replied as she looked once more at her mother. "The manor. Between the Book of Shadows, your mom's pantry, and the Nexus, we'll be safe for a while."

"Get any ideas of using the Nexus out of your head right now," he warned. "And don't grow overconfident by the safety of the manor. Wyatt was still killed there. Remember?"

Answering with an apologetic squeeze of her hand, Penny closed her eyes as his orbs took them away.

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	2. part 1

_**Part One**_

_January 12, 2033 – early evening_

"Are you insane?"

"Practically a requisite for being a member in this family," Penny muttered as she tried to ignore Chris's pacing and instead concentrate on the potion before her. "Just hand me the lid, okay? This needs to simmer for twenty minutes."

He practically shoved the pot's lid in her chest. "You haven't listened to a word I said."

"I heard every word," she calmly said, covering the boiling potion, lowering the flame. "D'you have a better idea?"

"Time travel's too risky," Chris maintained as he placed some of the dirty bowls in the sink to soak. "Too many variables, too many things can go wrong."

"Look, the potion and the spell create the perfect balance. It's a good, no, it's a great plan." Penny moved away from the range and looked at the family photos pinned to the refrigerator with magnets. Her eyes welled with tears as she touched a picture of her parents mugging for the camera and she turned back to her cousin. "I don't know what else to do."

Quickly hugging her tight, he kissed the top of her head. "Let me take you away, let me take you somewhere safe." When she stiffened, he assured her, "It doesn't have to be Up There. I don't trust them either," he admitted, "but demons will come back for us. We need time, Penny. We need time to think and to plan."

"Prue loved to plan," she whispered.

"She and Wyatt were the strategists," he quietly agreed leading her to the doorway to the dining room. Stopping to frame her face between his palms, he said, "I don't want a rash decision to cost me my only surviving family member."

"We don't have any other choice and you know it. The Charmed Ones are gone," Penny's voice cracked. "Wyatt, the twice-blessed child, is gone. The only way we can fight back is if we go back in time and warn them." She tugged his sleeves, "It worked for you, why can't it work for me?"

"It's not the same thing," Chris argued as he stepped back.

"C'mon, Chris," she touched his arm, "we all grew up with the story of how you went back in time to prevent Wyatt from turning evil. And you did it. You saved Wyatt. He was --"

"I know," Chris sighed. He had learned the story just like all his siblings and cousins but it was still only a story to him because he wasn't the Chris who had gone back in time. The Chris who had done that had died back in the past and he was merely the result of the changes that Chris had effected. "Do you remember the rest of it?" he questioned his cousin. "Do you remember our moms telling us how knowledge of the future can screw things up? How everyone starts second-guessing every decision and how fear of revealing too much or too little can cause as many problems as if --"

"But it worked out in the end," Penny interrupted. "Because you trusted them to do the right thing with that knowledge and because you protected them with your life. What's the worst that could happen, Chris? That we screw up, that we're killed in the past? So what? Isn't that our destiny here? Even if we go into hiding, we're only postponing the inevitable."

"You don't know that," he snapped. Taking a deep breath, he touched the Cupid's ring hanging from the gold chain around her neck. "I'm not talking about hiding forever. It's only about staying safe until the time is right to attack."

Penny shrieked when Chris suddenly yanked the chain, breaking it, as he fell into her. She ducked and rolled with him through the doorway to avoid the flames extending from the demon's hand. "Chris, orb us out!" she panted as she kicked the door shut and heard pots exploding in the kitchen. "Dammit, the potion! Chris, we need to get out of here!" But he remained limp in her arms and she finally noticed the scorch mark on his back. "Chris?" She shook him but he still didn't move; he didn't even groan. "Oh God, Chris, no, Chris, no…"

And then the door exploded and she was flung back into the chairs. Dazed, she managed to scramble a bit further away. And realizing the spell was her only chance for survival, risky without the potion for balance, she recited from memory,

"_Magic forces good, bright, and pure,_

_Find me the key to right the wrong,_

_Show me the way love may endure,_

_Help me end evil's reign, this night so long._"

And just as the room began to fade from her sight, her body was bombarded in flames and pain.

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	3. part 2

_**Part Two**_

_January 12, 2003 – late morning_

Unable to believe her eyes, Phoebe repeated, "Oh my God."

"Oh, no, not God, Kaia."

Phoebe glared at her ex-husband who ignored her and instead instructed her doppelganger to mimic her voice. Until she realized what it meant for him to have a double of her, a demon who seemed more than eager to listen. "You're sick, you know that? You need help. Are, are you sleeping with me? I mean her?"

Disgust flowed through her at the thought of Cole touching the demon the way he used to touch her. Disgust followed by rage. How dare he claim to want to kiss her again, to want her back, when he had this Kaia to satisfy his needs? And yet she still made no move towards him, no attempt to attack him. All she could do was watch in shock as he left the penthouse with the shape-shifter, grabbing her purse, and offhandedly remarking that leftover Chinese was in the fridge.

Presumably the magic blocking her from leaving or calling for Leo didn't work on Kaia. And still, she just stood there while various emotions warred within her until anger finally won and she darted towards the door after them.

But just as she reached the door, a solid form collided with her from behind and she stumbled into the door. Spinning on her heel, ready to attack, she was surprised to find a slumped figure on the floor. "What, I need a guard too?" she muttered as she warily kicked the body over. Gasping at the sight of the horrible burns over the young woman's face and chest, Phoebe instinctively cried out for Leo.

Having stepped into the elevator with Kaia, Cole was in the midst of instructing her to return to the manor to deceive Piper and Paige when he heard Phoebe's shout. He smiled at the thought of her anger with him, recalling how easily it could flow into passion. But the tone of her voice registered and he realized something was wrong. "You have your orders," he commanded a petulant Kaia before he rushed back into the penthouse.

"Phoebe, are you all -- Who the hell is that?"

"You're asking me?" she snapped back. "Isn't she a little young to be a guard?"

"She's not a guard," Cole stated as he pulled Phoebe to her feet. "And there's no way she could have gotten past the block. Stay behind me."

"Don't tell me what to do." Phoebe jerked away from him and dropped to her knees again. "She's hurt." She gently brushed aside some of the young woman's long brown hair before glaring at him. "Who is she, Cole? If she's not some guard, is she some innocent, some innocent you've hurt?"

"I've never seen her before," he declared before he paused, "although there is something familiar about her."

"These burns are bad," Phoebe's voice lowered, "they're really bad."

Cole was about to comment when the girl's eyes fluttered open.

Her vision was blurry but it sounded like her mother. Had she made it back in time? "Mama?"

Realizing the girl was too injured to know where she was, Phoebe played along, "It's okay, I'm here."

Cole watched the girl painfully lift her hand to touch Phoebe's face.

"Spell worked," Penny rasped, "knew it…Book's always right…"

"Oh God," Phoebe uttered, immediately understanding that the girl knew exactly who she was. "You're my daughter!"

"You don't know that," Cole cautioned.

Phoebe didn't take her eyes off the girl but answered Cole anyway, "Only family would know about the Book." She glanced up at him, "And if you really had this place blocked like you said, the only way she could have entered is if she was a part of me."

"Mama…"

Phoebe immediately turned her attentions to her daughter, "What, sweetie?"

"Hurts…" And almost immediately, she coughed in pain.

"I know, sweetie, but I'll call Leo," she promised as she glowered at Cole, "and he'll heal you."

"Warn you…factions…"

"Later, sweetie, after you've been healed. Rest now," Phoebe encouraged. "You're safe. No one can hurt you."

Cole bent and was annoyed when Phoebe went into protective mode over the girl. "She'll be more comfortable in the bed." And without waiting for an apology, he tenderly lifted the girl into his arms. She moaned in pain and he apologized. But by the time he laid her on the comforter, she was unconscious.

"Leo!"

"He can't hear you," Cole reminded her as he straightened.

"Remove the block," she demanded. "This isn't about us anymore, not that there is an us anymore. This is about my daughter who's hurt, maybe dying, who came back in time to warn me about factions." She looked fiercely at him, "Anything you want to confess?"

"I'll be back soon," he replied as he turned away.

"That's it?" she practically shrieked, grabbing his arm. "You hate me that much you'll let my daughter die?"

"I don't hate you at all, Phoebe," he sighed as he faced her again. "I'm going to get her some help."

"I don't want demonic help," Phoebe spat. "I'd rather she die than be influenced by evil."

Cole eyed her, "Now who's letting your daughter die?"

"Please, Cole, let me call for Leo."

"And what if I did?" he challenged. "What would you do for me?"

Phoebe didn't hesitate to give her answer, "I'll come back. I'll move in and we can start over. Hell, we can even get married again, if that's what you want."

He stared at her a moment before he turned away, "I'll be back soon."

"Wait! I thought that's what you wanted." Phoebe rushed ahead of him and placed her hands on his chest, "I thought you wanted me back."

Cole gently lifted her hands and placed them back at her sides. He gave her a sad smile, "I do want that, Phoebe. But I want you to come to me willingly, not out of keeping your side of some bargain we made."

She shook her head, "I won't be evil, Cole. Whatever you've got planned, it's just not gonna happen."

"It doesn't have to be evil," he uttered with frustration. "I didn't want it to be evil. But it's the only option left."

"You could be good," she snapped. "You could try for once to --"

"For once?" he raged.

But it didn't faze her and she looked him squarely in the eye, "You need to be good for you, Cole, not for me or for anyone else. And if you can't, if it's not within your nature, then be evil. But either way, I can't be a part of it anymore. It's cost me too much; it's cost us too much." And without waiting for a response, she strode past him, back to her daughter's bedside.

Cole stared at his ex-wife's stiff back and frowned. But he said nothing and de-materialized from the room.

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	4. part 3

_**Part Three**_

_January 12, 2003 – evening_

Cole politely announced his return before entering the bedroom where he was shocked to find Phoebe unconscious on the floor. Quickly rushing to her side, he lifted her into his arms and placed her on the bed next to the wounded girl. He lightly patted her cheek but when she didn't stir, he kissed her forehead. He was nearly out of the room when he heard her groan.

"What's going on?"

"Easy," he cautioned, helping her sit up. She'd glanced at her daughter and he added, "I just got back and found you passed out on the floor. What happened?"

"I don't know," she replied as she stood, steadied herself, and crossed to the other side of the bed. "One minute I was talking to her and the next I got dizzy and then nothing."

"Have you eaten?" he asked in concern despite the fact that he knew it was unlikely she had. Leftover Chinese never truly appealed to him either but sometimes you made do with what you had. "Give me a minute and I'll get you some dinner."

Phoebe nodded to her daughter, "Her breathing's worse. I think, I think she's dying, Cole."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't get back sooner." He approached the bed and slowly sat on the edge, careful not to disturb the girl. "You said she was talking?"

"Only for a few moments now and then and most of the time I could barely hear her to make out what she's saying." She didn't reveal the pieces she'd learned about the boy her daughter loved, the boy who was half-demon and died trying to protect the family. It broke her heart to think history would repeat itself with her daughter. Phoebe moved beside him, watching warily as he gazed at her daughter. "Is your operation over yet? Can I call Leo?"

"Operation?" He had gotten so caught up in trying to learn more about the girl that he'd forgotten all about the plans he'd set in motion for the Charmed Ones. Thanks to his renewed ties with the Underworld, Phoebe had been suspended, Piper's club failed inspection, and Paige had been charged with hit and run. "Uh, no," he answered, "it's not. I spent most of the time tracking down an Oracle or a Seer I would trust enough to give me --"

"Seer?"

Cole heard the fear in her voice and touched her arm reassuringly, "She's gone. But there are others, though not necessarily as powerful as she."

Phoebe fought the shiver, though whether it was due to the information or to his touch she couldn't say. "And?"

"And I found a Seer who reminded me that the future is always in motion," he explained. He caught her rolling her eyes.

"I could've told you that," Phoebe impatiently told him. "It's not like Prue's here to dye her hair blond and live that future I saw or that Piper's gonna grow old with Leo and have a bunch of grandchildren like she'd seen. Did this Seer," she choked out the word, "give you anything useful?"

"In addition to a source for, sorry," he shrugged, "poor choice of words, a healer, all she had time to tell me was that fates had been cheated twice but wouldn't let it happen a third time and that, instead of wasting time, you should simply trust her when the time is right."

Phoebe thought a moment before throwing her hands up in exasperation, "What the hell does that mean? Is being cryptic a requirement for being a Seer?"

Cole withdrew a small vial from his pocket, "All I know is that when you do meet her, you should listen because she's different from other Seers and Oracles. I even think you'll like her. Her name is K--"

"Wait, what are you doing?" Phoebe grabbed his wrist, stopping him from bringing the vial to her daughter's lips.

"I won't let harm come to her any more than I would you," he promised. He took her hesitation as permission and, without gloating over the fact that despite all the negatives between them Phoebe still trusted him to some degree, he carefully poured the liquid into the girl's mouth. "This will ease her pain and heal her as she sleeps."

"She's not asleep, she's unconscious!" She tried telling herself Cole would never do anything to harm her daughter but she was still worried about the origin of the potion and what side-effects there might be. Just because Cole seemed to be trying to help didn't mean she should trust his "sources" too.

Penny coughed from the liquid suddenly going down her throat. But coughing made the pain worse which made the coughing worse. She felt strong arms holding her and she struggled to open her eyes.

"Easy," Cole cautioned as he moved the vial from her mouth and tried restraining her with his other arm. "It's okay, you're safe."

Her vision was still blurry but, through her power, she felt his concern and tried to take in some of his strength. And then she heard her mother's voice repeating that she was safe. If her mother was there then…"Daddy?"

Cole ignored Phoebe's gasp of surprise and concentrated on the girl lying before him who cried for him again. Daddy. He was a father. He suppressed a smile at the thought that his relationship with Phoebe wasn't over despite her desire. At least it would last long enough to produce a daughter. "Shhh, sweetheart, Daddy's here."

"Your ring…" Penny cried hoarsely. "Chain broke and --"

"Shhh, it's okay," he consoled her while taking a glimpse at his wedding ring that, unlike Phoebe, he had not yet been able to remove. "It doesn't matter." Bringing the vial back to her lips, he softly encouraged, "Drink this. It will make the pain go away."

"Daddy…demons…" Penny pushed his hand away in her growing panic, spilling the cool liquid onto her hand.

"Stop," Cole exclaimed as he tried to grab her flailing hand without injuring her further. "Phoebe!"

Phoebe was already scrambling onto the bed to the other side of Cole. Reaching out, she tried to calm her daughter. "Shhh, you're safe now. No one can hurt you."

Penny cried as pain coursed through her from her movements as she tried reaching for him again. To her dismay, she couldn't keep her eyes open and she was wheezing, "Angry, Daddy…you…so angry… ring…energies…not there but…saw, saw it all…"

Frustrated by the tiny bits of information, Cole knew better than to press his daughter for more. She needed time to heal before he could question her. "You have to drink this potion, sweetheart. It will make you better, I promise."

"Premonition, she has my power," Phoebe murmured as Cole tried again to get their daughter to drink what was left in the vial. Their daughter. "I can't deal with this now," she whispered.

Cole, however, wasn't about to let Phoebe off the hook. But he kept his eyes on his daughter, helping her to swallow the potion. "As soon as she's asleep, we're going to talk. I'm not removing the block until we do. You can't run this time."

"I don't run," she seethed as her daughter was finally quieting, "and we have nothing left to say to one another."

"Except that our daughter is lying here near death and we need to --"

"Well now, doesn't this make a lovely family picture?"

Phoebe turned to find herself standing in the doorway. "You!" she shouted. Only her daughter's condition kept her from attacking the shape-shifter. She moved slightly to block her daughter from view.

Cole immediately stood. "Kaia," he growled.

"So much for being protected here," Phoebe muttered.

Penny sensed the hostility and opened her eyes, squinting in confusion at the new figure. "Mama? Two?"

"Shhh, sweetie, it's okay. She's a demon but you're safe. She can't hurt you."

"As if you could stop me," Phoebe/Kaia taunted. "You didn't have an active power before and now you don't have any powers at all."

Phoebe's eyes widened. Her faint hadn't been due to lack of food. She was under a spell. She glared at Cole but, based on the way his eyes glinted at the demon, she realized he'd had nothing to do with what happened to her.

Phoebe/Kaia grinned and turned to Cole. "Come on, baby, you know I'm better than she is. I'm everything you could ever want and more."

"Except you're not her," he coolly stated. "It's been fun, Kaia, but it's over now."

Kaia morphed back into her own features and cozied up to him, "I did everything you asked and they bought it. I fooled her sisters." Running her fingers up his neck into his hair, she purred, "If you let me, I'll make it so you never remember she even existed before me."

"No," he stated as he removed her hand from his head and shoved her back. "Enough, Kaia. I've warned you before."

"What about your plans?"

"They've changed," he declared without glancing at his daughter who moaned for him.

"You're making a mistake," Kaia warned.

"One I aim to correct," he decided before killing her without a second thought. He spun back to his daughter, "It's okay, sweetheart, I took care of the demon." She seemed to relax slightly and he assured her, "You're safe."

"For now," Phoebe whispered as her daughter slipped back unconscious. As much as she hated to admit it, Cole was right. Their daughter was injured and they needed to work together to help her. And after that, they would have to decide how they would move on apart from each other but still ensure her daughter is conceived.

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	5. part 4

_**Part Four**_

_January 12, 2003 – late evening_

"I'm kind of in the middle of something, Piper," Phoebe said as she rolled her shoulders to alleviate the growing ache.

"_You've been gone for hours, Phoebe. You said you wanted to rest but you snuck out. What's going on?"_

"I can't get into it now," Phoebe replied with a worried look to her daughter who groaned in sleep.

"_We need you home. We still have this mess with Paige and the club and --"_

"I know," Phoebe interrupted, "but this's important too. It's…" But she stopped herself from revealing the news about her daughter. The last thing she needed now was an interrogation. "Look, Piper, I'll be home as soon as I can."

"_You're with Cole. Aren't you?"_

"As a matter of fact, I am." And she tried not to flinch when Cole's hands coincidentally began massaging her shoulders.

When Phoebe didn't jerk away, Cole took it as a sign of progress and silently began to knead the knots he felt.

"_Pheebs, look, I'm sorry if you were upset when I lied that it was fine for you to get back together with him but --"_

"What?"

"_But he's too dangerous now. You're too susceptible to his pull, to evil. Thank God you knew he'd put a spell on you this morning when he was kissing you. At least the spell will --"_

"Kissing? Spell?" Phoebe turned around and faced Cole. "What spell?" she demanded of him.

"_The spell we cast to take your powers. I'm gonna kill Cole for messing with your memory!"_

"You took my powers?" Phoebe rubbed her temple with her free fingers. Kaia's doing no doubt. "Look, Piper, I promise, Cole doesn't have me under any spell and I'm not in any danger of turning evil. But I need my powers back."

"_So come home and we'll reverse it."_

"I can't," Phoebe sighed. "Trust me, okay?"

"_I don't know if the spell will work over the phone."_

"Try, Piper, please." Phoebe stared at Cole and didn't pay attention to Piper's words. But she suddenly felt light-headed and allowed Cole to support her until she felt steady enough on her feet and she shooed him away.

"_Well?"_

Without fuss, Cole moved back to his daughter's side, frowning. While her facial burns had mostly faded to a pale red, her neck still bore the blackened scorch marks and her chest was still welted with large blisters. She wasn't anywhere near being out of the woods.

Phoebe levitated a few inches off the ground. "It worked." But she was more taken by the expression on Cole's face. "She's still dying?" she asked him in a quiet voice.

"I hope not," he honestly replied.

"_Who's dying?"_

Tears welled in Phoebe's eyes and she sat next to her daughter, lightly caressing her cheek.

"_Phoebe, what's going on?"_

"We need Leo," Phoebe requested of Cole. "Please."

"_I knew it. Cole's done something, hasn't he?"_

Letting Leo come would mean losing Phoebe. She would return to the manor with their daughter and plot with her sisters to stop him. Hell, maybe she'd even vanquish him again. He needed time, time for them to be alone without interruption. Time for her to remember what they were like together, what love was like. Their daughter was strong. He could sense that about her. She just needed time to heal. He shook his head. All she needed was time.

"Shape-shifter," Phoebe distractedly told her older sister. "She's dead now. Cole took care of her."

"_He probably sent her!"_

"Cole, please." Phoebe couldn't figure him out. He was obviously responsible for her problems at work, for everything happening to them. He hadn't denied it, not really. He insanely believed he could win her back by being evil and turning her along the way. And yet he seemed afraid for her daughter's well-being. So why wouldn't he allow the one thing that would heal the girl and possibly convince her to return to him?

"_Phoebe, are you there?"_

But Phoebe was lost in thought about her daughter. No, their daughter. How in the world could that have happened? She knew she wasn't pregnant and she had no intention of sleeping with him again. "It's not true."

She'd spoken so softly but Cole heard. "What isn't true?" he asked without taking his eyes off his daughter.

"She isn't ours," Phoebe told him. "She can't be."

"_Phoebe, what are you talking about?"_

"We're at the penthouse," was all Phoebe said before shutting her cell phone.

"She is ours," Cole argued. "You said yourself that she wouldn't have been able to penetrate the block unless she was a part of you."

"It doesn't mean you're her father," Phoebe stepped back and let her words sink in before adding, "Her vision was blurry, she may not have recognized you. You may have only reminded her of her father and in her pain she wanted you to be him. Not even the Seer confirmed your identity, just told you that the future's always in motion. She may not be your daughter." She met his gaze, "I'm begging you, Cole. Let Leo in."

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	6. part 5

_**Part Five**_

_January 12, 2003 – late evening_

"Why isn't it working?" Phoebe fretted.

Cole gently pulled her back and whispered in her ear, "Let him work, sweetie. She was badly injured."

"You can't call me 'sweetie,'" she reminded him even as she unconsciously leaned back against him.

"You," Piper pointed to Cole, "away from her. Now."

Cole shot her a look but moved away from Phoebe, due more to his not wanting to push Phoebe too far than due to Piper's implied threat.

"Who is she?" Paige inquired in an accusatory tone.

"Oh, you're out of jail?"

"Trumped up charge, as if you didn't know," she sniped back.

She didn't know the half of it, Cole thought. If his plan hadn't been interrupted, he would have killed the driver of the other car and Paige would be facing far worse than hit and run.

"She's an innocent. Why can't you heal her?" Phoebe's tone was tinged with hysteria.

"Innocent," Cole mumbled to himself before focusing on his daughter. She had interrupted his plans to kill an innocent. "Phoebe, I think I know why --"

"It's not meant to be," Leo quietly announced as he stood and stepped away from the bed. "I can't heal her."

"What? No, you have to!" Phoebe shoved him back to her daughter. "Try again." She indicated to Paige. "Help him! You've done it before."

Cole held onto Phoebe, stopping her from pummeling Leo.

"Let me go," Phoebe struggled against his grip.

"Mama?"

Cole's grip immediately loosened and Phoebe pushed past Leo to settle at her daughter's side. As she held one of her daughter's hands, she caught sight of Cole reaching for the other as he knelt next to the bed. "I'm here, it's okay."

He lightly kissed the back of her hand. "You'll be fine, sweetheart."

"So dark…"

Cole immediately waved his free hand and illuminated the room. "Better?"

"Can't see…Mama?"

"Mama?" Piper repeated. The first time Phoebe had reacted, Piper had assumed she was merely trying to comfort the girl but now…"What's going on?"

Paige turned to her older sister, "Phoebe, just who is this girl?"

But Phoebe ignored her sisters and choked back a sob. "I'm here, honey, I'm here. Can you feel me holding your hand? You're safe. I'm here."

"Demons…Bianca first," Penny warned, gasping for breath. "Family…all gone…only me left…" She squeezed her parents hands and burst into tears with energy she didn't quite have.

"Shhhh, it's okay, it's okay, we won't let anything happen…" Tears were now spilling down Phoebe's cheeks.

"Who started it?" Cole asked intently. "Can you tell us?"

"Not now," Phoebe pleaded.

"She came to warn us," he patiently reminded her. "We need to know or everything she hoped to accomplish will have been for nothing."

"Ryan tried," Penny weakly told them. "Honest…good, Mama…loves me."

"Of course he does," Phoebe soothed.

"Only half-demon," Penny murmured, "loves me…"

Phoebe exchanged looks with a surprised Cole but tried to calm her daughter, "It's okay, sweetie, I'm not upset. Your love is real."

"Mama's right," Cole added, the word flowing easily from his lips and sounding so right, "you loved each other. Think of him now. He'd want you to save your strength so the healing potion can work."

"Warned me but," Penny coughed, "couldn't stop Drayful…got Bianca…"

"Hush, sweetheart, we'll change it," Cole promised, kissing her hand again. "We'll make sure it never comes true."

Phoebe stroked her daughter's forehead and lightly placed a kiss there. "Shhhh, it's okay…it's okay." She glanced at Cole, "Drayful?"

Cole nodded, "A demon I used to know, one who I was thinking of approaching again."

"Well you'd better," Phoebe warned, "by taking care of him just like you did Dex and Kaia."

"You do that," Piper finally interrupted, "while we take Phoebe and the girl back to the manor."

"Phoebe and I have unfinished business. Besides, our daughter," he emphasized, "isn't stable enough to be moved."

"What unfinished business? She hates you," Paige reminded him. "End of story."

"Hate's only breath away from love," Penny whispered.

"What?" Phoebe gasped. She'd only heard the phrase for the first time that day.

"You taught me…Daddy?"

"I'm here," Cole replied in a choked voice. He knew she was slipping away and felt powerless to stop it.

"So cold…"

While Phoebe gathered their daughter into her arms, Cole moved so he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his arms around them both. With a slight wave of his hand, a ring of fire surrounded them. "Better, sweetheart?"

Penny couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and was barely able to smile, "Yes, Daddy…tell me --"

Cole nearly panicked when she stopped speaking mid-sentence. "Tell you what, sweetheart?"

"'Bout Mama…love her…"

Cole glanced at Phoebe but replied in a choked voice, "I love her because she is everything. She completes me in ways I never thought needed completion. She is light and love and passion and --"

"Match in heaven," Penny sighed.

"Not exactly," Cole and Phoebe responded simultaneously. But their cautious smiles turned disappeared the instant they felt their daughter go limp.

Phoebe rocked her daughter, "No…" She hugged her daughter tighter, leaning into Cole's embrace as she cried.

"What the hell is going on?" Piper whispered to Paige when the girl's body suddenly disappeared and then the flames vanished.

"I don't know," Paige replied with annoyance when Phoebe wrapped her arms around Cole as she cried. "But we're going home. Now." And she immediately touched Phoebe's arm and orbed them both from the bedroom leaving Piper and Leo behind.

"Fix it," Piper demanded of him. "Everything you've done to us, I want it erased. The suspension, the inspection, the arrest, I want it all off our records, as if they never happened." She reached for Leo's hand and spoke once more, "The girl was right, Cole, about love and hate. Phoebe's still hurting. See you don't hurt her anymore."

Cole acknowledged Piper's "request" with a curt nod before they orbed away leaving him alone.

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	7. part 6

_**Part Six**_

_January 19, 2003 – evening_

"Happy Birthday," Cole dejectedly wished his reflection.

"Why now?"

Cole turned around to face his visitor, the Avatar, again. "Because even unlimited power won't give me what I want. Sorry to disappoint you but I thought you should know, spare you future visits. I won't change my mind."

"Time is tricky," the Avatar acknowledged. "Even those with the power to see the future don't always see clearly. We'll see each other again, Cole. We're not giving up on you."

"Maybe you should talk to Phoebe," Cole muttered to the empty room when the Avatar vanished.

He considered ignoring the sudden knocking at his door but it grew more intense and he reluctantly answered it. To his surprise, Phoebe was standing there. His unconscious smile dipped into a frown when he took in her appearance. He hadn't seen her in a week, not since the night their daughter appeared and died, and she looked as if she'd aged ten years. "Are you okay?"

Phoebe shrugged but couldn't find her voice. She couldn't be sure how she even made it to the penthouse.

"I trust everything's back to normal?" he questioned, knowing full well he'd fixed all the problems he'd caused for them. But Phoebe stared blankly at him and he grew concerned. "Would you like to come in?"

Phoebe suddenly realized she was gazing into his eyes and she burst into tears, "I didn't even know her name!"

Cole immediately pulled her into his arms. "I know," he murmured. It was a thought that had occurred to him many times during the past week.

They stood in the doorway for several minutes until Phoebe was calm enough for him to lead her to sit on the sofa.

"I can't stop thinking about her," she sniffled as she stared at their interlocked fingers.

"Neither can I," he admitted.

"I keep imagining different scenarios to fill in the blanks she revealed. But we're never going to know the truth, are we?"

"Probably not," he acknowledged. "I've taken care of Drayful so perhaps this Ryan of hers is now safe."

"But we don't know why his attack on Bianca started the chain of events," Phoebe sighed, still not releasing his hand. "We don't even know who Bianca is or what her connection to the family is."

Cole gently squeezed her hand, "But I promise to help you find out if that's what you want. And I promise to help protect you, your family, even if we're not together."

Phoebe tugged her hand free, "I didn't come here -- I mean I'm not asking --"

"I know," he interrupted, "but I wanted you to know I've finally accepted the inevitable." He swept some hair from her eyes, "I've accepted your desire to end things between us. Perhaps you were right and she wasn't my daughter after all."

"Cole, I --"

"No, let me finish," he requested. "Please…" When she didn't comment, he stood and paced for a few moments to collect his thoughts. He hadn't expected it to be so hard to voice the thoughts he'd had for the past week. On impulse, he sat next to her again, taking her hand in his for strength.

Whatever he had to say, she knew it was important and coming from his heart. Phoebe gave his hand an encouraging squeeze but said nothing.

"I've had a lot of time this past week to reflect on my life, the turns it's taken in recent months, and it's no wonder you've been so afraid of what was happening. I understand now what you meant about being good. I truly understand." He brought her hand to his lips before stroking it with his thumb. "You were right. I was trying to be good for everyone else but me. It's not that I felt forced into doing good but rather I was doing it because I knew it's what you wanted, because that's what would keep us together."

"You awoke my humanity, Phoebe, my conscience, but I was still doing it only to be with you. And when I realized we could be happy together being evil, I tried that path too. It didn't matter what side I was on so long as you were by my side."

Phoebe waited for him to continue, unwilling to break his train of thought. But after a moment, she found herself asking, "What made you realize you were wrong?"

"Our daughter." Cole released her hand and stood again. He walked to the French doors and stepped out onto the balcony but was oblivious to the city's view.

Phoebe followed him. "Cole?"

"She stopped me from making a terrible mistake, a terribly deadly mistake." He watched her face as she absorbed the meaning of his words.

"An innocent?"

Cole nodded before turning away from her. "There's no need to go into details but suffice it to say the charges against Paige would have been far harder to fight. That young woman and the Nexus were my keys to driving you back to evil, back to my side."

"Why are you telling me?" Phoebe whispered.

"Because I don't want any more secrets between us," he shrugged. "And because you needed to know the truth. And that I've changed, truly changed."

She shook her head, "I don't understand."

"Because I didn't go through with it. I'd abandoned all those plans when our daughter appeared from the future. Even if killing Drayful wasn't the act she'd needed to prevent her fate, an innocent woman was still saved. And I can't taint her memory by returning to my plans."

"What now?"

Cole hesitantly reached for Phoebe's hand and replied when she didn't pull away. "Now we find a way to move forward. I've made my choice and I don't want to be evil, Phoebe. I want to help innocents where I can and when I can. All I want for us is to find peace and be happy."

"What if," she quietly asked, "what if being happy doesn't mean being together?"

"Then that's how it will be," he decided as he led her back into the suite. "I'd like to believe she was our daughter but maybe she wasn't. Maybe you're meant to find someone else to love, someone else with whom to raise a family. If we're not meant to be, it wouldn't be what I want but I will accept it. Because I love you, Phoebe, and I want what's best for you, even if that means that it's not me."

"Maybe some space would be good," she cautiously suggested, slipping her hand free.

"Maybe it would be," he agreed as he accompanied her to the door. "I've been lost for a while and maybe I need to concentrate on me before I can concentrate on us."

"I'm glad you're finding your way back," Phoebe paused in the doorway. Impulsively standing on tiptoes, she kissed him quickly. "Happy Birthday, Cole."

"You remembered." With an absurd grin on his face, he watched her rush into the elevator before his fingers found themselves lightly touching his lips. "Maybe she hasn't given up after all," he mused.

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	8. epilogue

_**Epilogue**_

_January 12, 2033 – late morning_

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Penny cradled her mother's bloody and broken body. "Daddy's dead…I don't understand," she cried as she buried her face in her mother's neck, "why didn't you warn me?"

"Penny?"

Penny's head jerked up. "Daddy! You're okay? You're alive!"

"Of course I am, sweetheart. It's been ten years since your mother last tried vanquishing me," he chuckled as he sat on the bed and wrapped her in his arms. "I think that was the day we announced that you were finally going to be a big sister. I'm not sure who was more surprised that day, you or your Aunt Piper."

But her heart was pounding and she could barely comprehend that she was safe in her bed much less what he was saying. Her father's arms around her, she burrowed into him as if she was five years old instead of eighteen. "Mama! She's --"

"Shhh," he soothed, all amusement having left his tone, "Mama's fine. She's over at the --"

"But the demons…Trish, Prue!"

"Your sisters are fine. I just spoke to Trish. She's picking up the twins from the mall." He brushed the matted hair from her forehead, "You're still running a slight fever. Demons haven't attacked anyone."

"The twins are alive?" Penny's voice cracked and she scrambled to her feet trying to push past her father. "Everyone? Uncle Henry? Aunt Paige? Bianca?"

"Must've been some nightmare," he commented as he easily scooped her up and carried her back to bed as he'd done ages ago when she was a little girl. "Want to talk about it?"

To her surprise, Penny shook her head and snuggled close to him.

"Whenever you're ready then," he offered despite already knowing the gist of it. "Now," he suggested as he gently pried her free and settled her back in bed, "why don't you close your eyes and --"

"Uncle Cole? Hey, you up here?"

Cole kissed Penny's forehead and muttered as he stood, "Pardon me, sweetheart, while I kill your cousin. Get some rest, I'll check on you in a little while."

"Don't go…"

"Hey, there you are, I've been orbing all over town looking for you," Chris interrupted. "Wow, squirt, you're not looking so good. You're almost as green as Bianca."

"Let me give you a piece of advice kid. Don't let your wife ever hear you tease her when it comes to morning sickness."

Taken aback, Chris stared at him, "But she's the one who --"

Cole clapped him on the back and chuckled, "I've been there four times, kid. Trust me when I say you'd better watch --"

"Daddy?"

He focused on his tearful daughter and sat on the edge of the bed. Again, he quietly encouraged her to get some sleep. "It was only a nightmare, not a premonition."

"You can't be sure," she whispered. "I've had it," she confessed, "twice already this week."

"Anxiety," he reasoned, "because it's only a nightmare of a reality that never happened."

"You don't --"

Cole placed his index finger to her lips. "Four years ago, I was with Ryan when he tried to protect Bianca from that faction."

"You saved her," Chris gratefully acknowledged.

"Saved Ryan too," Penny considered. "You changed history, Daddy."

"Because you'd gone back in time to warn us," Cole offered. "We've talked about this before, sweetheart. You're just stressing because deep down you know this is that point in time. But it hasn't happened and it never will." He kissed her forehead again and gently pushed her back into her pillows. "You and your incorrigible cousin here are more alike than you realize." He still saw doubt cloud her eyes and he smiled, "The Warren line isn't down to only either of you. The Charmed Ones and their families are all very much alive and well and still," with a wink to his nephew, "growing."

"Get some rest, squirt," Chris suggested with a grin. "You don't want to be missing the party later tonight."

"Party?"

"My surprise birthday party, as if you didn't know," Cole rolled his eyes.

Penny grew nervous, "You know?"

"I've got my sources," Cole grinned. "But don't tell your mother I know. It was clever of her to try this a week early and I want to see her face when she "surprises" me."

"Can't wait to hear what she's plotting for a few years from now. The big one-five-o's looming on the horizon, isn't it?" Chris teased.

"You're lucky you're my favorite nephew," Cole growled, "or you might find yourself --"

"I need to see her," Penny tugged on his shirt. "Please, Daddy, I need to see her!"

"She's fine, sweetheart, she's at the manor with your aunts." Disturbed by her growing panic, Cole was unwilling to leave in order to bring back Phoebe. "Chris?"

Chris immediately complied and his voice echoed as he orbed out, "Be right back."

A few minutes later, Phoebe was orbed into the bedroom but before she could say anything, Penny had burst into tears. Rushing to her youngest daughter's side, she looked to her husband in confusion while she comforted Penny. "She's pretty warm," she mentioned to Cole. "She had the nightmare, didn't she."

He nodded and turned to Chris, "Didn't Ben ask you for some help with potions?"

"Make sure he doesn't blow up the kitchen this time, please," Phoebe requested distractedly as she rocked Penny. She felt Penny shudder. "Don't worry, honey, your brother's getting better. You should've seen when your Aunt Paige started."

"Oh Mama…"

"Shhh, sweetie, it was just a nightmare…"

"It was too real…"

"Do you want to show me?" Phoebe asked as she pulled back slightly. "It might make you feel better," she added after Penny shook her head.

Penny glanced nervously at her father who nodded encouragingly. After a moment, she grabbed her mother's hands and squeezed her eyes shut as the images replayed themselves.

Phoebe absorbed the horrific vision with the grace she had perfected over the years. She didn't say anything for a few minutes as she continued composing herself. Finally, she pressed her lips to the top of her daughter's head. "I know you're scared, Penny, but it's over now. You're safe. Daddy and I are here."

"But --"

"No buts," she smiled using a gentle but firm tone. "The Charmed Ones have lived through demonic factions before and we've got too much good and too much power on our side now to let a little faction or two destroy our lives. Okay?"

"Close your eyes," Cole requested. "We'll stay right here."

"I love you both," Penny desperately told them.

Phoebe kissed her daughter's forehead. "We love you too, sweetheart. Now close your eyes like Daddy said. We'll be right here."

Cole waited until Penny was asleep for a good ten minutes before questioning his wife. "Well?"

In an effort not to jostle the bed, Phoebe carefully stood. Gazing at her daughter, her back to her husband, she shrugged. "It's hard to say."

Cole gently turned her around, "I told her it was merely her subconscious offering her a vision of what that other reality was like, the reality she helped prevent from happening. Was I wrong?"

"I don't know," she honestly replied. "The timing is certainly right and we have been under attack far too frequently these days. But so many of those pieces aren't in place and she is running a fever so it could very well have been simply a nightmare. Too much about our lives was different. For one, I was married to a Cupid and for anoth--"

"A what?!"

"Shhhh," Phoebe hissed, pushing him back slightly. "I told you it was different."

"I didn't expect to hear that," he grumbled.

She couldn't suppress a grin at his jealousy, "Don't worry, I'm strictly a one-demon witch."

"And don't you forget it," he pouted even as he pulled her into his arms for a deeply passionate kiss.

When her heart began beating again, Phoebe continued in a slightly dazed tone, "Maybe you and Wyatt could do some reconnaissance Down There just to be sure." When he nodded, she hesitated to ask, "Do you remember Kyra's warning about us cheating fate twice?"

"We'll make sure we don't need a third time to set things right," Cole promised. "I love you too much, Phoebe, to let anything destroy the life we've built together."

Phoebe gazed into his eyes as her own welled with tears, "I'm so glad I didn't give up on you. Maybe I would've been blissfully happy with a Cupid and three girls but I know it wouldn't have come close to the magic we have."

"Damn right," he smirked, pulling her close.

"Match in heaven," Penny murmured in her restless sleep.

"Not exactly," her parents simultaneously retorted before Phoebe's giggles were smothered by Cole's lips finding hers.

_**The End**_


End file.
